"I know you don't remember anything, Thomas! Quit sayin' that—don't ever say it again. None of us remember anything, and we're bloody sick of you reminding us. The point is there's something different about you and it's time we figured it out." (28.27)
To be fair, Thomas is kind of like a broken record. But come on—he's only been there a few days at this point, while everyone else has had some time to adjust to this strange situation. Maybe if they answered some of his questions he'd quit belly-achin' so much.
But from what he could tell, naps were frowned upon in the giant working farm of the Glade. […] "That's one of the reasons we run this place all nice and busylike. You get lazy, you get sad. Start givin' up. Plain and simple." (11.47, 53)
Ever have one of those Saturdays where all you do is watch TV and play on the internet? And although you're psyched to be doing absolutely nothing for once, at the end of the day you're kinda bummed out? Yeah, that happens to everyone.
"You better stop this nonsense, before others hear about it. That's not how it works around here, and our whole existence depends on things working." […] "Order," Newt continued, "Order. You say that bloody word over and over in your shuck head. Reason we're all sane around here is 'cause we work our butts off and maintain order. Order's the reason we put Ben out – can't very well have loonies runnin' around tryin' to kill people, now can we? Order. Last thing we need is you screwin' that up." (15.65)
They banished Ben to preserve their precious order, but was there an alternative that would've worked just as well? And Thomas throws off all of their order pretty quickly—why don't they banish him?
"Bloody he-" Newt started before stopping himself; he closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. "We can't. Okay? Don't say it again. One hundred percent against the rules. Especially with the buggin' Doors about to close." (16.46)
No room for grey areas in the Glade, Tommy-boy. Or is there? Whenever he gets away with something, he has exploited the minuscule ambiguity buried beneath the hard and fast rules. How does he do that?
Quote 5
"Reason we're here is because almost every lovin' kid in the Glade has come up to me in the last day or two either boohooing about Thomas or beggin' to take his bloody hand in marriage. We need to decide what we're gonna do with him." (24.10)
When the townsfolk start demanding justice, you know you're in trouble—it's only a matter of time before you're facing pitchforks and angry mobs.
"Here's my recommendation," Newt said. "You broke our bloody Number One Rule, so you get one day in the Slammer. That's your punishment. I also recommend we elect you as a Runner, effective the second this meeting's over." (26.26)
Well at least he got his due process. But Alby specifically said earlier that if you break that rule you get "banished, no questions" (9.11), so things have definitely changed in the Glade.